Electric cooking utensil



March 15, 1938. w. H. slcKlNGER ELECTRIC COOKING UTENSIL Filed May 17, 1937 f///f/ /,l M/f /f f/H favefzz.'

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ff f C Patented Mar. 15, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIC COOKING UTENSIL 01' Illinois Application May 17, 1937, Serial No. 143,007

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in electric cooking utensils. A known type of such utensil consists of a bucket-like body or container, an electric heating unit mounted on the bottom wall of the container, and a removable cooking vessel supported within the container with its bottom wall slightly above the top of the heating unit. It has been found in practical use of such cooking utensils that the radiant heat from the heating unit impinging directly upon the bottom of the cooking vessel, which latter is usually of aluminum, warps the bottom. Furthermore,A when cooking a non-liquid food, such as meat, the non-uniform application of the heat not infrequently burns or scorches the food being cooked. The object of the invention is to provide animprovement in this type of cooker which will successfully elimina-te the above noted faults. A simple and practical embodiment of the invention is illustrated in accompanying drawing, in which,-

Fig. 1 is a vertical axial section of the complete outt;

Fig. 2 is a. horizontal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the baille plate.

Referring to the drawing, I0 designates as an entirety the body member or container of the cooker which, as usual, in this type of cooker is formed with thick, heavily insulated side and bottom walls. The container is equipped with short supporting legs II and with handles I2 at diametrically opposite points of its side wall. The bottom wall of the container is formed with a countersink III, in which is mounted an electric heating unit I4 substantially filling the countersink. 'I'he heating unit is wired in any suitable manner to an external socket I5 on its side wall.

On the top edge of the container I0 is a shallow countersink I6 on which rests an annular flange I1 of the cooking vessel I8, the latter depending into the container to approximately the relative extent shown in Fig. 1. 'Ihe cooking vessel I8 is equipped with handles I9 and with a removable cover 20.

2| designates a known apertured, corrugated disk that removably rests on the bottom wall of the vessel I8 and is designed to prevent burning or scorching of the article being cooked, and

to a slight extent does accomplish this result.

'I'he eiliciency of this disk for its intended purpose, however, it low and, furthermore, since it does not shield the bottom wall of the cooking vessel from the, direct intense heat of the heater I4, it is valueless to prevent warping of the cooking vessel.

In accordance with the present invention, I provide aat. solid, lmperforate baille plate 22,

that is of substantially the same form and area as the heating unit I4, and is equipped with a plurality of outwardly splayed legs 23 welded or otherwise secured to the lower side of the plate 22, which legs 23 rest on the annular ledge 24 of the bottom wall that surrounds the countersink I3 and supports the plate 22 substantially mid- Way between the burner I4 and the bottom of the cooking vessel I8. To maintain the baffle plate 22 against lateral shifting, the legs 23 are preferably made long enough to extend to the lower corner formed by the side and bottom walls of the container I 0, as shown in Fig. 2.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the baille plate 22 both shields the bottom of the cooking vessel from the direct radiant heat of the burner I4 and also sends most of the heated air up into the annular space between the side walls of the container I0 and the vessel I8, thus more uniformly distributing the heat and consequently more uniformly cooking the food in the vessel.

I claim:

1. In an electric cooking utensil of the class described, the combination of an open-top container having its bottom wall formed with a central countersink, an electric heating unit occupying said countersink, a cooking vessel suspended in the chamber of said container out of contact with the side walls of the latter and with its bottom wall vertically spaced from said heating unit, and a removable imperiorate baffle plate in said container located approximately midway between the top of said heating unit and the bottom wall of said cooking vessel, said baille plate being of substantially the same outline form and area as said heating unit, and supporting legs on said baiile plate stepped on but unattached to the ledge of said container bottom wall surrounding said countersink.

2. In an electric cooking utensil of the class described, the combination of an open top container having its bottom wall formed with a central countersink, an electric heating unit occupying said countersink, a cooking vessel suspended in the vessel of said chamber out of contact with the side Walls of the latter and with its bottom wall vertically spaced from said heating unit, and a removable imperforate baille plate in said container located approximately midway between the top of said heating unit and the bottom wall of said cooking vessel, and outwardly and downwardly inclined supporting legs on said baille plate stepped on but unattached to the ledge of said container bottom wall and extending into contact with the interior side wall of said container, whereby edgewise displacement of said baille plate relatively to said heating unit is prevented.

WILLIAM H. SICKINGER. 

